1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of wood milling. More specifically, the invention provides a contoured dunnage cutter for forming a series of spaced identical arcuate cuts in one or more surfaces of a longitudinal timber or work piece of similar material. The spacing, shape and dimensions of the cuts are predetermined and accurately controlled to provide both support for and separation of lengths of pipe during shipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since large orders of pipes such as ductile iron water pipes may travel thousands of miles by truck, train and ocean freighter in order to reach their final destination, it is necessary to protect each length of pipe from physical damage. Such physical damage might include abrasion from adjacent pipes or crushing pipes stacked above and supported by others. While a straight timber provides support and separation, a straight timber is not suitable for long distance shipping, or in those cases where stacked heights include many layers of pipes stacked one above the other. The straight timber provides only line contact for a short distance and provides no security against horizontal movement perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pipes. The present invention provides a contour cutter which will machine timber dunnage separators rapidly and accurately.
Prior art methods of forming such cut surfaces in timber dunnage separators include marking the work piece and sawing with a band saw, or the use of tracer attachments on automatic milling machines. These prior art methods are versatile but are either time consuming or require expensive machinery. The prior art machines employed are capable of performing cuts of various shapes and copying complicated designs, while the present invention provides means of making rapid arcuate cuts and accurately spacing the arcuate cuts along the length of a timber.